Federal Government to H&R Block: Do As We Say, Not As We Do

November 28, 2013 By 1 Comment

Pot, here’s Kettle.

The federal government—the government that brought you the Website That Wasn’t, the failed healthcare.gov site—now wants to join in a lawsuit against H&R Block because of its website.  But wait:

Does the H&R Block website work?  Yes.

Does the federal government’s Obamacare website work?  No.

Now, though, the U.S. government has sought to intervene in a lawsuit accusing tax preparers H&R Block of operating a website which is inaccessible to people who are blind or deaf or have other disabilities.

Never mind that the government’s healthcare.gov website has been inaccessible across the board, to people with and without disabilities, to people who are blind and deaf and to everyone else, too. 

According to the Kansas City Star,

The website of Kansas City-based H&R Block Inc. isn’t designed to be used with commonly available technology — such as screen reader software, refreshable Braille displays and keyboard navigation aids — for people who are blind, deaf or have trouble with manual dexterity, the Justice Department said in court papers.

The Justice Department asked a federal court in Boston to let it join a lawsuit against the companies filed by the National Federation of the Blind. The U.S. in court papers accused two H&R Block units, HRB Digital and HRB Tax Group, of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Inaccessible websites of public accommodations are not simply an inconvenience to individuals with disabilities,” Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement. “They deny persons with disabilities access to basic goods and services that people without disabilities take advantage of every day.”

How does the design flaw at H&R Block stack up against the federal government’s website woes?

The epic failure of the Obama Administration’s healthcare website exposed organizational weaknesses under HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, drawing widespread criticism from Obama friends and foes.  Healthcare.gov took three years and cost an estimated $687 million to develop.  On the day that it launched, only SIX of the 250,000 people who accessed the site were able to register successfully.

The government overlooked flaws exposed as early as March, when consultants tested the site and found it lacking.  According to a series of emails between members of the information technology team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Healthcare.gov website was unable to consistently handle 500 users at once during testing, and tests failed with 2,000 users over a three-day period.

Despite ominous warnings, the Administration moved forward with the botched October 1 launch.

As for H&R Block’s troubles:  The company’s website has not yet been updated to provide state-of-the-art services for the disabled, including the estimated 1.3 million individuals (0.3% of the population) who are legally blind, and the 1 million who are legally deaf.  However, the company has said that it is “firmly committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As part of this commitment, we continually strive to make our products and services accessible to all individuals.”

The company also said it has devoted substantial time and resources to improving the accessibility of its website and online services.  According to an H&R Block spokesperson, “These enhancements are part of a larger effort H&R Block has undertaken to assure that all Block’s online resources meet or exceed industry standards for accessibility.”

 

Filed Under: Government, Technology 1 Comment

A Man for All Seasons: Sir Thomas More, Statesman, Martyr, and Devoted Father

June 22, 2013 By 2 Comments

During this Fortnight for Freedom, I reflect on one of the great saints whose commitment to the Church and to religious liberty is an inspiration to us today.

*     *     *     *

Sir Thomas More was a man with a bright future.  A successful statesman and a loving husband and father, More was Chancellor in the Court of King Henry VIII, one of the king’s most trusted ministers.

But then came Anne Boleyn.

At the time, King Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon—a marriage which Pope Clement VII declared to be valid and indissoluble.  Henry sought a legal divorce in order to wed the beautiful young Anne.  In 1534, when his attempts to obtain an annulment were thwarted, Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church, declaring himself to be “the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England.”  He ordered all of his royal subjects to swear an oath in support of his Act of Supremacy.

Thomas More, though, refused to take an oath affirming the validity of Henry’s new marriage to Anne Boleyn.  He was accused of treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

From prison, More spoke out strongly against Henry VIII’s marriage, calling the King’s Act of Supremacy “contrary to the laws of God and his holy Church.”  More explained that no temporal prince could take away the prerogatives that belonged to St. Peter and his successors, according to the words of Christ.  Although most of the English bishops had accepted the king’s order, More stood his ground, insisting that the saints in heaven did not accept it.

On July 7, 1535, after fifteen months of imprisonment, More was beheaded.  Calm before his executioner, he declared, “I am the king’s good servant—but God’s first.”

*     *     *    *     *

Following is an excerpt from Thomas More’s letter to his daughter Margaret, written while he was in prison.

Letter of St. Thomas More to His Daughter Margaret

Although I know well, Margaret, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God, I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me until now and made me content to lose goods, land, and life as well, rather than to swear against my conscience. God’s grace has given the king a gracious frame of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty. In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped
so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot, therefore, mistrust the grace of God.

By the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my reward in heaven besides.

I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.

And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall, therefore, with good hope commit myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy.

Sir Thomas More died on July 7, 1535.  He is memorialized on June 22 along with St. John Fisher, bishop, cardinal and martyr, who also died during the English Reformation for refusing to acknowledge Henry as Head of the Church of England.  He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, and canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XI.  His story is told in the Academy Award-winning Hollywood classic, “A Man for All Seasons.”

Filed Under: Catholic, Character, Faith, Government, History, Martyrs, Saints Tagged With: , , , , 2 Comments

Arizona Prays, to Atheists’ Dismay

June 13, 2013 By 2 Comments

The Arizona Court of Appeals has again rejected a legal challenge brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation opposing the state’s Day of Prayer.  The group had attempted to show that Governor Jan Brewer, by declaring the May 2 Day of Prayer, had violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

The Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which filed suit in March 2010, lacked legal standing because they have not proved that they were injured by the governor’s proclamation.  The FFRF cannot claim financial loss as a result of the proclamation, since they are not Arizona taxpayers.  Further, the court ruled that claims that the proclamation inflicted psychological damage upon non-believers were unfounded.

The Arizona state constitution says that no Arizonans

“shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship, or lack of the same.”  

The court, however, ruled that the Day of Prayer is not a direct attack on the challengers’ specific belief systems.

Judge Donn Kessler, writing on behalf of the appeals court, noted that no “distinct and palpable injury” had been proven in this instance.  The judge wrote:

“The proclamations are not a direct attack on the (challengers’) specific belief systems.  Indeed, there is no allegation regarding how the (challengers) even learned about the proclamations or that the alleged harm to them was anything more than a general feeling of second-class citizenship and outside status.”

The atheists are considering an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, but are unlikely to obtain a different verdict in that venue.

Governor Jan Brewer, acknowledging the victory in a public statement, expressed her hope that the ruling will end the case once and for all.  In a statement released Tuesday, the governor said,

“I applaud the Arizona Court of Appeals for rejecting this needless legal challenge to an American custom and tradition. Given the plaintiffs’ string of legal defeats in both federal and state court, I am hopeful today’s ruling will be the final word on this issue.

“For centuries, Americans of every race, creed and color have voluntarily come together to embrace a founding freedom and pray for wisdom and strength. This is an American tradition, and one I’ve been proud to commemorate each year I’ve been Governor by proclaiming an Arizona Day of Prayer. It is all the more important during these troubled times in which we live.

“I thank the Court for its wisdom today, and pledge to continue defending the right of Americans to come together in voluntary days of prayer.”

Filed Under: Government, Prayer Tagged With: , , 2 Comments
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